Immigration Reform 2007

© Peter J. Loughlin 2007

It seems that immigration reform advocates may have lost another chance to get it done this summer. Coming up with a comprehensive immigration reform bill that serves our national security and economic interests and without giving away too much amnesty, will likely remain the issue of contention for many years to come. Despite the recent success of a well organized campaign to halt progression of the reform bill in Congress, I believe we have merely delayed the inevitable. Ignoring a problem will, as it always seems to do, make the problem worse.

Listen to the Program Now

Dial Up Listeners
 

High Speed Listeners
 


  
Broadcast Date July 29, 2007
(Sorry for the sound quality -- broadcast was made while on the road)

It seems that immigration reform advocates may have lost another chance to get it done this summer. Coming up with a comprehensive immigration reform bill that serves our national security and economic interests and without giving away too much amnesty, will likely remain the issue of contention for many years to come. Despite the recent success of a well organized campaign to halt progression of the reform bill in Congress, I believe we have merely delayed the inevitable. Ignoring a problem will, as it always seems to do, make the problem worse.

When we stop to consider the 12 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., I don’t feel it would be un-American to ask how they got here in the first place. Certainly those who crossed our borders illegally must have known they were breaking the law, right? Well perhaps, but I’m not so sure it’s as simple as all that. For example, I know I’m breaking the law when I exceed the speed limit, but there are times when I admittedly just go with the flow of traffic—hey, I know it’s wrong but I’m willing to take the risk from time to time. And where’s the highway patrol? Why weren’t they making a greater effort to stop me if they really wanted to curb speeding, right?

Admittedly this example is an oversimplification taken to the extreme, but it is one to which most of us can relate. But don’t you think that is sort of what the illegal aliens may have been thinking when they crossed the border in to the U.S. All levity aside, where was the Border Patrol Agents and why weren’t they making a greater effort to stop them if they really wanted to curb the growing problem of illegal aliens. I have the greatest admiration for or nation’s law enforcement officers, but the it appears there must have been a tacit policy afoot to leave the door open just a bit.

There is a popular illustrative tort case used by law professors, I think it’s called Rocker v. State. In any event, at issue was the principle of the “well worn path” which essentially made a land owner liable to trespassers on his land where he knew or should have know of their presence because of the well worn path they left behind from their daily trespass.

May I suggest here for a moment that our Mexican border shows ample signs of a well worn path? And I think you would agree that our government’s policy on overstays may have also cut a sizable swatch as well. May I further suggest that we own up to that fact that we as a nation share some responsibility for the problem? I’m sorry, I know it’s a difficult pill to swallow, but for me, it is the sociopolitical inconvenient truth of the day.

So, what can we do about it? The first thing to do is to admit we have a problem—and that we may be at least partially responsible for causing the problem in the first place. I’m not suggesting the illegal immigrants have no responsibility for their actions, I’m just saying we as a country played a part in it, that’s all. AND, of the two, that is, us or them, we’re in a much better position to fix things, aren’t we?

The next thing to do is to take real steps toward stopping the relentless incoming tide of new illegal immigrants entering every single day? We’d be a lot better off in this post 911 world knowing that not just anybody can enter the U.S. with little fear of being stopped—that’s just plain unacceptable. I will leave it to those better capable than I to implement an effective solution. Whether it be stone walls, drones, barbed wire or a combination, let’s find something that works and do it. I know others have made an argument that this would be tantamount to building a Berlin Wall, but that’s just nonsense, the fact is we need more effective border control.

We then need to do something with the 12 million illegal that are already here. All this talk of amnesty being unacceptable is understandable, but when you realize that there is no way to deport the mass of illegal immigrants already here, you have to face the fact that we need to do something to sort out, qualify and assimilate these people in a controlled setting. Certainly you cannot just hand everyone a green card. But let’s forget for a moment the semantics of whether or not it’s amnesty. Perhaps it is some form of amnesty, perhaps it isn’t, but one thing’s for sure, taking steps to get these folks out of the shadows is the only solution.

Pure amnesty is forgiveness for entering, remaining in, and working in the country illegally without any penalties. President Bush stated that he doesn’t support amnesty and neither do I, but let’s be sensible, what we are really talking about is compromise. The whole issue of comprehensive immigration reform is, in the end, one of compromise—and compromise is always borne of necessity—and we need to fix the current immigration system. Surely illegal immigrants will walk away with benefits, some of which may be a form of amnesty, but we also have an opportunity to correct an ineffective immigration system that is not working. With compromise both parties walk get to away from the table with some tangible benefit.

Finally, we need to keep the pressure on Congress to enact immigration reform that will serve our nation's national security interests and offer a fair solution to the mass of illegal immigrants already in our economy and culture. But we need not do this in one fell swoop. Since comprehensive immigration reform failed the past two years, maybe we should start to consider enacting it piece-by-piece. This way we can at least move in a positive direction while giving Congress and the nation an opportunity to better explore the more contentious issues—it’s certainly better than doing nothing. No matter which side of the aisle or argument you may sit, I urge you to work toward a improving our immigration system. Immigration reform is an issue that should be ignored.